Name:
Per.:
Chapter 25.3
1.
Inner Solar System Quiz
List the inner planets. (1 pt)
Closest to sun 

Mercury
2.
Date:

Venus
Farthest from Sun
Earth
Mars
List 3 things inner planets have in common with one another. (1pt)
Small size, solid surface (rocky), craters, warmer than outer planets, no rings
Name that Planet! Directions: Read each description and write down the name of the inner
planet that best fits that description. (0.5 pts each)
3. Geologically dead planet that has not changed its
appearance for billions of years. There is no volcanic
activity or weather!
4. Hottest inner planet – Temperatures are 900 F (It’s
hot all of the time here!)
5. Only planet with liquid water on its surface
Mercury
Venus
Earth
6. Smallest inner planet
Mercury
7. Cold, frozen planet with ice caps, extinct volcanoes,
canyons, and dust storms
8. Planet that is 1 AU from the sun
Mars
9. Planet with extreme temperature changes
Temperatures vary from very hot to very cold.
10. The “red” planet – with rusty red soil
Mercury
11. Planet known as Earth’s “twin” because it is similar in
size and mass (but not really like Earth)
12. Planet with a THICK atmosphere of heat – trapping
gases and high atmospheric pressure
Venus
Earth
Mars
Venus
13. Planet with a nitrogen and oxygen atmosphere
Earth
14. The most explored inner planet (not Earth)
Mars
15. Has 2 small (puny) moons – Phobos & Diemos
Mars
16. Has no atmosphere at all.
Mercury
Directions: Match the atmosphere description to the planet. (1 pt each)
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer Choices:
It has a thin atmosphere of carbon dioxide.
It has an atmosphere of nitrogen and oxygen.
It has no atmosphere
It has a thick atmosphere of carbon dioxide.
17.
Which choice above describes Mars? ___A______ (a? b? c? or d?)
18.
Which choice describes Earth?
__ _B___ (a? b? c? or d?)
True or False? If false, correct the statement.
19.
______True______ On Venus, a day is longer than a year.
20.
False – Carbon dioxide Oxygen is a heat-trapping gas (green house gas)
21.
False – Venus, Earth, or Mars The surface of Mercury is always changing due to
weather.
22.
False - active
A geologically dead planet has active volcanoes.
23.
___True_______
Craters are the main feature on Mercury.
24.
___True_______
Most of the water on Mars is frozen.
25.
False: Mars & Jupiter Asteroids are space rocks between Earth and Mars.
Answer the following questions with complete sentences.
26. Compare Earth’s moon to Mercury. How are they similar? (4 pts)
Both lack and atmosphere (due to small mass and less gravitational pull);
Both have extreme hot and cold temperatures (due to no atmosphere);
Both are geologically dead with no active volcanoes or plate tectonics
(smaller cores cool off already); both have craters as their main feature.
27.
Compare and contrast Earth to Mars. How are they similar? How are
they different? (6 pts)
Similarities: Both are small, rocky planets with an atmosphere and
weather. Both have volcanoes, canyons, and frozen water.
Differences: Mars is smaller, has a thinner atmosphere of CO2, lacks
oxygen and ozone; Mars is colder and all of the water is frozen; Mars is
geologically dead with no active volcanoes.
28. Select ONE of the questions below to answer. Support your answer with
details. (4 pts)
A. If Earth and Venus both have active volcanoes – why doesn’t Earth have a
thick carbon dioxide atmosphere like Venus? (Remember we talked about
plants)
Earth has plants to photosynthesize. Plants remove carbon dioxide and
release oxygen. Venus lacks photosynthesizing organisms and the carbon
dioxide has built up over time.
OR
B. What challenges would an astronaut face on Venus?
Hot temperatures (900F), no oxygen, high pressures to crush things, acidic
gases.
OR
C. Give an example of a greenhouse gas. How does it affect the temperatures
on a planet.
Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas. It allows light and UV rays from the sun to
reach the surface, but traps outgoing infrared (heat) radiation. The more
greenhouse gases there are to trap heat, the hotter the planet gets.